Noah Hart - Renaissance 8.3

FMW 8.3 Terms and Questions

The Northern Renaissance

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VOCAB

1. Utopia - A perfect society in which everyone lives in peace and happiness. This concept is first known to be written down in Thomas More’s book of the same name
2. William Shakespeare - An English playwright, poet, and author in the Elizabethian age. He was very influential in English literature, writing plays like Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. These works are still taught and studied today. He also invented many hundreds of words used today in English
3. Johann Gutenberg - A German goldsmith from the city of Mainz, and inventor of the printing press. He used his invention to make a German language Bible called the Gutenberg Bible. His invention allowed the spread of ideas in Europe and around the world.

Questions on Page 2

1. How did the Northern Renaissance differ from the Italian Renaissance? Explain these differences

• The humanists in the North were more focused on moral philosophy and reforming society, and basing it on Chiristian tradition, while Italian humanism was more focused on art.
• Literature was overall more important in the North than in the Italian Renaissance. Books were used to convey ideas, such as in Thomas More’s Utopia
• Humanist painters in the North were seemingly on focused on secular art and depicting life not in great events but in normal life scenes

1. What are two ways in which Shakespeare’s work showed Renaissance influences? Shakespeare’s work was very representative of Renaissance Humanism. It portrayed not religion, but events in history and even fiction, which could be seen as an innovation of this time (myths don't count as they were told as truth). He also wrote plays in which the setting was during the classical era

The second way Shakespeare represented the Renaissance influence was more indirect. The fact that a playwright and author who wrote so much is so well represented, when his works could’ve been lost to history if not for the printing press, shows the extraordinary amount of change at the time.

1. How did the invention of the printing press affect the dissemination of knowledge and ideas? The printing press is probably one of the most significant inventions in human history. The printing press allowed books to be manufactured efficiently and accurately, which resulted in more books. More books mean more people reading, which means more knowledge shared and more demand for books, and so an exponential, virtuous cycle of literature began, and continues today.
2. What was one way the Renaissance changed society? Ultimately, the Renaissance’s impact was in the idea of skepticism. During this time, the Church and ways of life were questioned and that questioning ultimately provided excellent results, and so the idea of questioning even the things you trust, and the changing them for the better was adopted, and has made the world a better place, so the impact of the Renaissance was not its greatest in art or literature, but instead in how we think and how our society functions.
3. How were the paintings of the northern painters different from those of Flemish painters? Give examples -- German and Flemish works were similar, but they had differences. The most notable is the medium in which they were presented. A German artist named Albrecht Durer worked in woodcuts and engravings, while Flemish artists used oil paintings, most notably Jan van Eyck. The details on them were also different, with German artists focused on portraits, while the Flemish focused on details on clothes and personalities, and lively scenes.

An example of German Renaissance art is the lost portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger. While this work has been lost, many copies were made. These copies show the magnificence of Henry, with him at the center, and no other subject. He also had great detail in the face of the painting, which looked incredibly realistic.

An example of Flemish art is Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel. It shows the talents of Flemish artists in regards to complex arrangements and colors. As stated above, there were many subjects, not just one, and this is where the detail was focused.

1. What reasons did humanists give for wanting to reform society? Explain

Humanists wanted to reform society because they saw much corruption and strife in society. Erasmus, for example, ridiculed these people in his book, The Praise of Folly. More is another example of one of these humanists. He believed that ultimately, Christianity is the one force that should be at the center, a positive influence. Many saw that true Christianty was not the guiding force, and so to justify their claims, they based their arguments in Christianity.

1. How was Queen Elizabeth I representative of the Renaissance Woman? Explain -- The Renaissance woman expected to be well educated, but were not allowed to express their knowledge, but it could be argued that a true Renaissance woman was one who succeeded in the Renaissance despite the rampant sexism of the time. Elizabeth was one of the most famous English monarchs, and unlike King John, she was known for her intelligence, being educated in many languages, and managing a superpower in Europe, along with its burgeoning colonies, financial troubles, and religious tension.